The majority of his campaign advice will be given over telephone conference calls rather than in person, it is understood.

However, Mr Axelrod’s political stardust is such that he is being seen as a significant game changer who could re-energise the Labour operation.

He is being paid a “six-figure salary” for his advice, according to Labour, and will work alongside Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, over the coming 12 months.

Mr Axelrod has said his interest in politics started aged just five, when he saw a rally by President John F Kennedy in New York.

He has said: "I was so taken by the scene and by him and what seemed so important and so magical. That's what really sort of began to fire my interest in politics and in news."

________________

CV

Born: February 22, 1955, in New York City.

Family: His father Joseph Axelrod, worked as a psychologist. His mother was a newspaper journalist. He has a wife, Susan. They have three children.

Education: He studied political science at the University of Chicago.

Career: In 1981, he began working for The Chicago Tribune as a political reporter. After eight years as a journalist, he left to become a political campaign consultant. Axelrod first made a name for himself in 1984 when his campaign management team won Congressman Paul Simon a seat in the US Senate. Through his company, AKP&D Message and Media, he went on to run campaigns for Democrats including Bill and Hilary Clinton as well as John Edwards. In 1992 he met Barack Obama, who was then a community organiser in Chicago. In 2003, Axelrod became Obama’s strategist during his bid to be elected to the Senate. He went on to run both of Obama’s successful presidential campaigns.